Danny Soufi / Pavel Lefterov win at the Lausitzring

• First podium for Maxim Dirickx and Sven Barth
• Zino-Ferret Fahlke achieves third place at his series debut
• Thomas Ambiel finishes first in the trophy classification

Klettwitz. The fifth race of the Prototype Cup Germany season was won by Danny Soufi (21/USA) and Pavel Lefterov (27/BUL, both Konrad Motorsport). The duo celebrated its second victory of the season at the Dekra Lausitzring, making them the first driver duo to record more than one victory. “My plan was to win the start and then build up as big a lead as possible. I managed that and Pavel also did a good job in his stint,” was Soufi’s summary of his involvement in the race. Lefterov added: “I had a relatively quiet race if you forget about the fact that I nearly collided with Alexzander Kristiansson after the pit stop. After that I was even able to extend our lead and bring it home.” Second place went to Sven Barth (44/Eberbach) and Maxim Dirickx (21/BEL, both Aust Motorsport), who made their debut on a Prototype Cup Germany podium. The young Belgian withstood the pressure from Zino-Ferret Fahlke (18/Hergiswil, Konrad Motorsport), who ended up finishing third in his first race in the German LMP3 series.

The competitors settled into their positions quickly in the first half of the race. Soufi took the lead from first on the grid, followed by Valentino Catalano (19/Westheim, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) and Mattias Bjerre Jakobsen (18/DEN, BWT Mücke Motorsport). The distance between the top 3 increased with each lap, while Barth in fourth place had an up-close view of Fahlke and Maksymilian Angelard (17/POL, BWT Mücke Motorsport) in his rear-view mirror. Once all the pit stops were done and the field had sorted itself out again, Lefterov was in first place; Mikkel C. Johansen (37/DEN, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) and Dirickx were following him around the Lausitzring. The protégé of Le Mans winner Marco Werner edged past Jakobsen, who retired after experiencing issues with the starter motor during the pit stop, before passing Johansen soon after.

Subsequently, a thrilling three-way battle developed between Dirickx, Fahlke and Mattis Pluschkell (20/Elmenhorst, BWT Mücke Motorsport) after the latter two also overtook Johansen. On the final lap, Pluschkell attacked Fahlke in front – the two cars collided, and the Konrad driver spun. Pluschkell in third place was waved on but was awarded a 10-second penalty for the collision after seeing the chequered flag; this pushed him down into fourth place behind Fahlke. Dirickx crossed the finish line ahead of the debutant – the Belgian, who was also the best Junior, achieved his best classification in the Prototype Cup Germany. It was also his team-mate Barth’s first podium in the race series organised by ADAC and Creventic.

The Pluschkell / Angelard duo were forced to make do with fourth place, Catalano and Johansen were in fifth place as they saw the chequered flag. Thomas Ambiel (45/Eppingen, Rinaldi Racing) was classified sixth, making him the best trophy driver. His trophy rival Michael Herich (47/Brühl, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) finished the race alongside Alexzander Kristiansson (25/SWE, Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport) in seventh place after experiencing gearbox problems.

Sven Barth (second): “I wasn’t happy with sixth place in qualifying for this race since the air pressure of the tyres turned out to be less than ideal. But I made that decision, not the team. I was able to move up into fourth place right at the start of the race and then stay there. I’m really pleased with our second place, my best result alongside Maxim.”

Maxim Dirickx (second): “Sven did a fantastic job in the first stint before I took over the car. I was able to overtake Alexzander Kristiansson while he was completing a penalty lap and then also move past Mikkel C. Johansen. Zino-Ferret Fahlke was driving behind me and I knew that I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes, which I managed to avoid doing. Things got emotional after crossing the finish line, the first podium is special. My thanks go to the team and to my coach and mentor Marco Werner.”

Zino-Ferret Fahlke (third): “I had a mediocre start, but I was able to move past Maksymilian Angelard in a tight manoeuvre. Then I was stuck behind Sven Barth for a long time and then behind his team-mate Maxim Dirickx in my second stint. And coming up behind me was Mattis Pluschkell, who was really fast. He spun me on the final lap, but thanks to his penalty I finished in third place anyway.”

Prototype Cup Germany broadcasting times for Dekra Lausitzring 2025
Sunday, 25th May 2025
16:50 CEST - Race 2 live - youtube.com/adacmotorsports